SCA: Lake Michigan Mermaid March 1st, 2018

Intriguing Conversation

MARCH 1 | 7:00 - 8:30PM 
$16 | Cash Bar
Ticket includes ​a signed copy of Lake Michigan Mermaid
Join authors Linda Nemec Foster and Ann-Marie Oomen with illustrator Meridith Ridl for an exciting book launch celebration and conversation inspired by our exhibition "Surface Tension". 
 
During this debut event Foster and Oomen will showcase their process, original illustrations, read a few excerpts

and share their story of conception --  speaking exactly
​ ​
10 years later, in the very location the Mermaid project concept originated! 

The Lake Michigan Mermaid is a new tale that feels familiar. The breeze off the lake, the sand underfoot, the supreme sadness of being young and not in control—these sensations come rushing back page-by-page, bringing to life an ancient myth of coming of age in a troubled world. 
 
This is a gripping tale in poems of a young girl’s desperate search for guidance in a world turned upside down by family and economic upheaval. Raised in a ramshackle cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan, Lykretia takes refuge in her beloved lake in the face of her grandmother’s illness and her mother’s eager attempts to sell their home following her recent divorce. One day Lykretia spots a creature in the water, something beautiful and inexplicable. Is it the mythical Lake Michigan mermaid, or an embodiment of the stories her grandmother told as dementia ravaged her mind? Thus begins a telepathic conversation between a lost young girl and Phyliadellacia, the mermaid who saves her in more ways than one.

Accompanied by haunting illustrations Lake Michigan Mermaid offers a tender tale of friendship, redemption, and the life-giving power of water. As it explores family relationships and generational bonds, this book is an unforgettable experience that aims to connect readers of all ages.
 
Linda Nemec Foster is the founder of the Contemporary Writers Series at Aquinas College. She is also the author of nine collections of poetry including Amber Necklace from Gdansk, Talking Diamonds, Listen to the Landscape, and Living in the Fire Nest. Foster was selected to be the first poet laureate of Grand Rapids, MI from 2003-2005.
Anne-Marie Oomen is author of Love, Sex and 4-H (Next Generation Indie Award for Memoir), House of Fields andPulling Down the Barn (both Michigan Notable Books) and Uncoded Woman (poetry), among others. She teaches at Solstice MFA at Pine Manor College (MA), Interlochen’s College of Creative Arts (MI), and at conferences throughout the country.

Meridith Ridl is an artist and an art teacher with a BA from the College of Wooster and MFA from the University of Michigan. She is represented by Lafontsee Galleries in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Meridith lives with her wonderful husband Brent, in Saugatuck, Michigan and loves wandering the lakeshore and dunes much like Lyk
​retia​
.